A – Z Challenge | Directors Series | A

Akira Kurosawa is an acclaimed Japanese director. I have chosen to start the series with this well-known director because he has been the doorway to many Film Buffs towards world cinema. When European cinema was ruling the world Akira Kurosawa was the one who opened it up for Japanese movies. He has directed 30 movies in his career spanning over 57 years.

Hidden Fortress (1958) is the one movie I would like to cite in this article. This movie is not his best, but as an Indian audience, one can easily relate this movie. The movie starts with two peasants accidentally finding a gold joins along with an army General named General Rokurota Makabe along with the princess of Akizuki Clan. They belong to the defeated side and the general wants to safely take the Princess to a secret territory. This mission forms the crux of the movie. The general portrayed by ever versatile Toshiro Mifune and the princess portrayed by Misa Uehera gave their best performance for the role. It would have been great if the movie was remade with Sivaji or MGR in the role of the general with Savitri playing the princess.

Other Films to Watch: Some of the prominent films of the director you shouldn’t miss at any cost are Rashomon, Ran, Yojimbo, Kagemusha, Ikiru, Seven Samurai.